Technology affects the list of most endangered jobs

Nicole Curtis, special to wtop.com

WASHINGTON — The list of the most endangered jobs shows that advanced technology is on the rise.

The most endangered job, according to a report by CareerCast, is mail carrier, with a hiring outlook of negative 28 percent. Online communication and immediate accessibility are factors in the decline of postal services.

CareerCast publisher Tony Lee tells Forbes that the “dramatically lower demand for paper” is due to a number of factors, including email and the availability of news on smartphones.

The study was calculated from CareerCast’s 2014 Jobs Rated Report and from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some jobs, such as newspaper reporter, are threatened by longer trends. Others, such as meter reader, can become endangered because of a sudden invention of a new technology, according to the report.

The most endangered jobs include:

  1. Mail carrier
  2. Farmer
  3. Meter reader
  4. Newspaper reporter
  5. Travel agent
  6. Lumberjack
  7. Flight attendant
  8. Drill-press operator
  9. Printing worker
  10. Tax examiner and collector

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